


Ever At Your Side

by strawberryblue



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Improper Use of Daemon Status Effects, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Shapeshifting, Sort of Ignoct as Well, Sort of Promptis, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:14:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27205069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryblue/pseuds/strawberryblue
Summary: Noctis searches for Prompto. What he finds waiting for him in the dark is something covetous and bitter. An inevitability, really.
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 4
Kudos: 72





	Ever At Your Side

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a minute since I’ve posted fanfic haha, but I played XV this past spring and it pushed my brain down a flight of stairs so, here we are. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy! Comments always appreciated. Apologies to Noctis in advance.

“Prompto!”

Noctis rushed into the cell as soon as the automated door began to open. He stumbled to a halt, breathing hard, dropping to his knees in front of the crumpled form of his friend. A moment of hesitation, before he grabbed the other boy’s shoulder and, gently as he could while fighting the adrenaline of the moment, adjusted his position to get a better look at him.

Prompto groaned quietly as the dim fixtures from the ceiling shone on his face, eyes scrunching up against the light. The blonde appeared no worse for wear than a few bruises. No blood, no signs of torture, nothing of the horrible images Noctis’s mind had conjured as he searched for him through the Keep. Noctis let out a shaky breath of relief as he lightly shook him.

“Prompto, hey, wake up,” He urged, as Prompto groaned again and slowly cracked his eyes open. They squinted for a moment, directionless, before settling on him.

“Noct?” 

“Hey,” Noctis smiled down at him as best as he could, but his voice sounded strained to his own ears. Prompto shakily propped himself up on his elbows and blinked up at him, wide eyed.

“You…came for me,” His voice was small as Noctis helped him sit up, not quite a question, but Noctis froze under the weight of it all the same.

“Of course I did!” A little too forceful. Noctis cringed, taking a breath and repeating himself, “Of course I did.”

“I, uh,” Prompto swallowed, eyes downcast, “I thought that, maybe you-“

“Prompto, I,” Noctis cut him off clumsily, squeezing his hand, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…” He paused, searching for the right words. How do you apologize for almost killing your best friend? _‘Whoops, my bad’?_ He had to fight back a hysterical laugh at the thought.

“I would never try to hurt you. Ardyn, did something, I don’t know, I thought you were him, I…”

“Woah, Noct, it’s okay.” Prompto was squeezing his hand back now, leaning in close, concerned features filling Noctis’s vision.

 _Prompto_ , who had been kidnapped, imprisoned, stuck in this awful, dark place full of daemons and twisted walking corpses of MTs, who he’d _hurt,_ was trying to comfort _him._

“How is any of this okay?” He bit out before he could think, pulling back. He regretted the words almost immediately. How had he managed to make this about himself?

“Well, maybe okay is a strong word. I just mean, I get it.” Prompto followed his movement, sitting up fully now, and he shrugged sheepishly. “I’ve definitely seen my fair share of weird shit here. I’m uh, glad you didn’t push me off a train for fun.”

Prompto chuckled a little at his own words, and something between a laugh and a sob bubbled up in Noctis’s throat as he shook his head. He took a moment to breath, to set aside the complicated feelings he didn’t have time to deal with. “I’m glad you’re alright. I mean, Ardyn didn’t hurt you?”

The man in question thankfully hadn’t chimed in to comment as if Noctis’s struggles were some sort of spectator sport in a while. Noctis hoped that maybe one of Niflheim’s daemons had turned on him the same way they’d apparently turned on everyone else in Zegnautus.

Prompto shrugged again, “I mean, he knocked me out and dumped me here, but I’ve probably taken worse hits training with Gladio.” Noctis suspected he was probably downplaying his injuries for his sake, but Prompto was beaming at him and flexing an arm as if he _was_ just showing off after a training session, so he didn’t push him on it.

Instead, he offered him a hand as he stood up, “Then let’s get the hell out of here.”

“I’d like that, yeah.”

Prompto grinned as he took it, and Noctis hauled him to his feet. He brushed himself off as soon as he was up, looking around the clutter of storage and discarded machinery that messily lined the edges of the room with distaste. “Uh, so where are we headed first?” He asked, “I’m about as lost here as you are. Didn’t exactly get a tour.”

“Well,” Great and wise leader that he was, Noctis didn’t have much more of a plan than ‘find an elevator and hope for the best’. 

It must have shown on his face, because Prompto gave him an understanding pat on the shoulder and quickly followed up with, “We’re together now, we’ll figure it out.”

Noctis nodded, squeezing the other boy’s arm. “Together,”

“Then, shall we…?”

Noctis paused, hand still lingering on his retainer’s arm. A flicker of anxiety caught in his stomach, something that grew, insistent, as much as he tried to ignore it. He wanted nothing more than to do just that; find the Crystal, find Ignis and Gladiolus, leave this death trap behind for good. He wanted to, but Ardyn’s voice had been haunting his steps since he got here, and the current lapse into silence didn’t stop it from echoing in his head as his thoughts returned to the dark hallways outside.

“Wait,” Noctis blurted out, tightening his grip as soon as he felt Prompto begin to move towards the door. He was happy, more than happy, to be reunited finally, but...

_‘Wouldn’t want to make a mistake’_

“Wait, before we go,” Noctis huffed, looking to the side, anxiety roiling. He thought of the phantom figures in the halls, of grasping for Prompto’s shoulder, only to feel the cold metal of another ruined MT, of the train, “uh, tell me something only you would know.”

Prompto’s brow furrowed and Noctis looked away, taking his hand back and already feeling stupid. “I just, need to know it’s actually you, all right?” 

He chanced a look back at his friend’s face, expecting, he wasn’t sure what, but Prompto just looked fond. “Sure, buddy.” He said, “Uh, okay, how about…” He trailed off for a moment, hand gesturing emptily in thought, before snapping his fingers.

“How about that time in sophomore year when we stayed out at the arcade way past your curfew because you kept trying to beat my high score in Justice Gunners? And then when you couldn’t you pouted about it until I bought you sea salt ice cream.”

Noctis blinked, then snorted, shaking his head, “I didn’t _pout.”_

“You _absolutely_ did. It was adorable.” Prompto laughed openly, and it was the most welcome sound Noctis had heard in days, before his face suddenly turned serious, “Oh, wait, does that count? I’m pretty sure Iggy lectured you for _at least_ four hours afterwards, so I guess he technically knows about it too.”

“Try four _days_ ,” Noctis made a show of grimacing, though the memory of Ignis berating him about The Dangers of The Arcade at Night was _almost_ a fond one by now. He certainly hadn’t stayed out past curfew for at least a good half year after that.

“Serves you right for making me treat you to dessert just because I’m better at shooters than you!” Prompto waved a dismissive hand, “And, by the way, you’re royalty. You could totally afford to get your own ice cream.”

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that.”

“So unfair!” Prompto whined, a hand to his chest in mock outrage.

Noctis snorted again, stepping past him and towards the door. “I’ll buy you all the ice cream you want when we get out of here.”

“Sure that’s enough evidence?” There was a distinctly teasing tone to his voice now, “Oh, I bet Ignis doesn’t know about that time you told me you used to have a crush on him-“

“O-okay, okay,” Noctis waved a hand, red in the face and definitely regretting that particular late night confession. “Yup, you are definitely Prompto, I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

Prompto grumbled good naturedly a bit more as he took a few hesitant steps to follow him. He made it maybe three before his legs gave out, almost crashing back to the floor were it not for Noctis darting forward to catch him in his arms. Noctis sighed, sinking the two of them down to rest on their knees. Definitely downplaying his injuries, then.

“I thought you said you were okay,” Noctis muttered, looking him over again.

“I am! I just, need a minute.” Prompto looked abashed, hands resting where he’d grabbed onto Noctis’s shoulders to steady himself. “Haven’t walked much lately.”

“Are you sure?” Noctis leaned in, “You can tell me if you’re hurt, Prompto, I-”

“Trust me,” One of Prompto’s hands traveled upwards, running through black hair, his forehead pressing to Noctis’s own as they held each other, their breath intermingling. Noctis stilled, staring questioningly into half lidded lilac eyes.

“Oh, Noct,” Prompto breathed fondly, and then he was kissing him.

Noctis stiffened, mouth slack against the soft feeling of Prompto’s lips moving against his. Prompto was kissing him. Prompto was here, he was okay, and he was kissing him. The other boy’s blonde hair tickled against his cheeks, his tongue sliding tentatively across Noctis’s lower lip, and Noctis kissed him in return.

His hand slid from where it had rested on Prompto’s waist to his back, pulling the blonde closer. Prompto responded in kind, fingers spreading across the back of Noctis’s head to leverage the kiss deeper. He was surprisingly confident for all the two of them lacked in experience, putting them back on course with a chuckle and an adjusting of his grip on his king’s hair when Noctis’s teeth awkwardly clicked against his own. 

Their free hands tangled together, Prompto’s fingers trailing lightly along Noctis’s knuckles. Noctis felt him smile against his lips, and he was smiling too, and then he felt _teeth_ , biting hard enough to break skin at the same moment the ring was plucked off of his finger.

Before Noctis could react, the grip on his hair tightened painfully, wrenching his head back as Prompto moved to straddle him and forcing a gasp from his split lips. He turned his wide gaze from the machinery in the ceiling back to the other boy’s face, still so close to his own, mouth curled in a sneer so unlike Prompto.

“Oh, what’s wrong, Noctis? Not the reunion you were expecting? Prince Charming swooping in to save the damsel? Finally getting that long sought after kiss as a reward for all your efforts? Did you think I would actually want you after everything you did to me?”

“You’re not Prompto.” Noctis grit out numbly, fingers twitching with his upteenth useless attempt to summon a weapon. His eyes darted to the Ring of the Lucii, held back and away from him, the one thing he had to defend himself with.

“No, I’m not,” Ardyn smiled down at him sardonically through Prompto’s face, tone patient as if dealing with a particularly slow child, “It certainly took you long enough to notice, Noct. To think, you couldn’t tell me apart from your _best friend_.”

Noctis barely heard him, taking a deep breath before kicking out to destabilize the man on top of him. It worked just enough that Ardyn’s hand dropped back towards him. He made to lunge for the ring, fingers brushing against the metal for the briefest of moments before Ardyn leveraged his grip on the king’s hair to knock his head back against the floor.

He held up the ring as Noctis lay reeling, examining it with disinterest in the low light, before tossing it carelessly across the room. It hit the ground with a series of pings, skittering across the floor and disappearing among the clutter of storage boxes and furniture. As if it didn’t contain the power of all the kings and queens of Lucis. Noctis felt a hand stroke through his hair as he stared after it, blinking spots out of his eyes.

“I suppose to be fair, I thought that _I_ at least gave a wonderful performance, even with such a lackluster partner.” He continued, speaking as if nothing had happened. Noctis snarled, lashing out with his fists now. Ardyn caught them easily, pinning his wrists to the floor beside his head with a strength incongruous with Prompto’s thin arms.

“Where is he?” Noctis jerked his arms in the grip, baring his teeth. If Prompto wasn’t here-

“Oh, Prompto is somewhere quite safe, I assure you.” Ardyn replied easily, pressing down harder, hold tight enough to be painful now, “You should really be more worried for yourself.”

“You-!”

“Tell me, was it as good as you imagined it?” He was leaning in close again, speaking conspiratorially against his ear. Noctis furrowed his brow, uncomprehending. “Did it taste just like you always thought it would?”

Something in Noctis’s mind clicked into place then, pushing past the fear and adrenaline to properly connect the sunny warmth of kissing Prompto for the first time to the cold reality of the imposter currently staring down at him hungrily. 

Noctis’s breath caught, a shiver going through him. Ardyn chuckled in response, closing the last inch of distance and playfully nipping at his ear. 

“Get off of me!” Noctis thrashed, tossing his head to escape the feeling of Ardyn’s breath against his skin. It did little about the iron grip on his wrists, but the man did pull back briefly, if only enough to let Noctis see the patronizing look he was giving him. The expression looked so _wrong_ on Prompto’s face.

“But you seemed so eager just a minute ago!” He cooed, lips brushing against Noctis’s as his tongue flicked out to lap at the cut he’d left. Noctis turned his head away quickly, making a noise of disgust, and Ardyn huffed his amusement against the skin of his cheek.

“Is this really so different from the real thing?” He asked, placing featherlight kisses down Noctis’s jaw, gently running his teeth along the boy’s exposed neck. He grinned, feeling the body under him shudder. Noctis was breathing hard, indignant, trying not to give Ardyn the satisfaction of a response.

“I suppose poor Prompto just isn’t good enough to hold your attention for long, is he?” The question, spoken against his throat, came in the most uncanny imitation of the wilted tone Prompto tended to take when he was doubting himself. It triggered a protective flare in Noctis’s chest, regardless of the circumstances.

“Don’t talk about him!” He snarled, kicking at open air, arms bucking hard enough to briefly unpin themselves before Ardyn pushed back. 

“That’s quite all right with me,” Ardyn replied lightly. There was a strange, almost familiar sensation, sparks of hot and cold around his wrists. Noctis’s eyes flew to them, wide as he saw Ardyn let go, finding his arms just as immobile as they had been in his grip.

“I’d rather we focus on _you_.”

Fingers slipped under his shirt, caressing the soft flesh of his stomach, almost shockingly warm in contrast with the chill of the room. The touch felt electric in the most sickening way, and Noctis cursed and struggled against it immediately. 

The hand that came up to hold his jaw then, thumb kneading at his cheek, was no longer Prompto’s. Blonde hair melted away into burgundy and the full weight of Ardyn’s much larger frame settled over him, suffocating.

“There now, isn’t that better?”

He forced Noctis to look at him, amber eyes narrowed in dark amusement as they met his panicked glare, and his other hand slid upwards, pulling Noctis’s shirt up along with it. Ardyn was groping at his shuddering chest now, and the boy jumped as rough fingers brushed over a dusky nipple.

“S-Stop it!” Noctis hissed, biting back a whimper as Ardyn lingered there, circling across the sensitive skin. His fingers closed over the bud, squeezing, and Noctis grit his teeth against the feeling, against the jolts of warmth it sent radiating deep in his stomach. 

“Stop-“ Noctis was cut off by Ardyn’s mouth against his. This wasn’t anything like the soft way he’d kissed him before. There was a force and hunger behind it that made Noctis groan in discomfort, trying to pull back and away from the fingers that gripped his jaw, kept his mouth open for Ardyn to push his tongue inside. 

He couldn’t breathe, could hardly think, unable to process the man who’d left so much of his life a crumbling wreck (his home, his father, Ignis, Prompto, _Luna_ ) doing _this_ to him. Ardyn’s tongue explored his mouth eagerly, hot and foreign and smothering, his free hand still groping at Noctis’s chest and waist. 

When Ardyn finally pulled back, it was just barely, Noctis’s vision still framed by the locks of his hair falling around his face. He loosened his grip on the boy’s jaw, sliding his hand upwards to card through dark hair affectionately. Noctis felt dizzy, unable to comprehend the way Ardyn looked down at him, the strange mix of adoration and hate in his eyes.

“What the hell do you want from me?” Noctis bit out, panting for air. 

His words seemed to give Ardyn pause, something he was more than grateful for as the fingers teasing at his chest finally stilled. Noctis glared up at the man, trying to get back control of his breathing, as Ardyn gazed back down at him thoughtfully.

“My, what a question,” Ardyn mused, “A great many things, in the end.”

He finally removed his hand from Noctis’s heaving chest to close around one of his immobilized wrists, bringing the hand to his lips and kissing it softly. Noctis felt his own lips curling in instinctive disgust, fingers twitching uselessly against the feeling of Ardyn’s quiet laughter against his skin. The man adjusted his grip and guided the captured hand down.

“But I should think that what I’d like from you at the moment is rather obvious, no?” 

Noctis’s hand, cradled in Ardyn’s own, was brought to rest against something warm and hard, straining against the fabric separating it from his skin. Noctis gasped, a single sharp inhale, the muscles in his arm spasming with the desire to recoil. The limb remained stubbornly still, and Ardyn was _leering_ now, grinding down, erection pressing against unwilling fingers.

“Let go!” Noctis thrashed what parts of him he could, boots scraping against the floor, “ _Let go of me!_ ”

“If you insist,” Ardyn squeezed his hand, voice indulgent, guiding his fingers in one last lingering caress against his clothed length before gently setting his arm back down beside his head. Noctis let out a shuddering breath, turning his head to the side as Ardyn leaned in close again, bracing himself.

The man only brushed a lock of hair out of his face, gently tucking it behind his ear. “You’ll get better acquainted soon enough regardless.” 

Noctis shivered, the words settling in his mind like stones.

 _This isn’t real._ Some part of him offered the thought, almost hopeful now. That this is just another trick, something Ardyn was using to mess with his head. Turning his care for Prompto against him before setting him stumbling off into the next trap. 

“For now, why don’t I return the favor?” Ardyn’s words were honeyed, and the palm suddenly pressing against Noctis through his pants was very much real. 

“No!” The protest began as a shout and died into a whimper as the older man’s grip closed around the still soft outline of Noctis’s cock, kneading. His hips writhed under the insistent touch, lips pressed in a thin line to hold back the sounds of want that threatened to spill out from them.

The touch was gone as suddenly as it had started as Ardyn leaned back, shifting his weight, and hooked his thumbs under Noctis’s waistband. Fear spiked in his chest, and Noctis twisted his hips, crying out a strangled protest as pants and briefs were dragged down together to pool around his knees.

A hand, cold leather and searing fingers, settled on his bare thigh, thumb massaging the milky soft skin, “There we are,” Ardyn sighed, all contentment, “Aren’t you just perfect.”

Noctis’s legs snapped shut, one crossing over the other in an attempt to hide himself from Ardyn’s appraising eyes. He glared up at him, harsh breaths through his nose, grimacing. Ardyn simply laughed.

“Oh, come now, Noct.” Casual, as he slid his fingers between the young king’s legs, prying them open. He made no further move for the moment, just drinking in the sight of Noctis splayed out before him with an approving hum, and then, “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“What…” Noctis began slowly, apprehensive, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Why, exactly what I said.” His hand closed around Noctis’s length as he spoke, the boy’s hips jumping at the touch, “Though this is the first time I’ve been quite this _close_.” A wry chuckle and a squeeze for emphasis. Noctis groaned quietly under the touch, eyes squeezing shut, confusion and alarm ringing in his mind in equal measure.

Ardyn stroked him a couple times more before relaxing his hold with a sigh, “But I’m getting a little ahead of myself, aren’t I? You’ll have to forgive me, but you _are_ so difficult to resist.” His touch lingered a moment longer, ghosting down half hardened flesh, before he pulled back.

“Excuse me a moment, while I make us both more comfortable.” His weight finally lifted as he stood up, head bowed in apology.

The instant Ardyn was fully off of him, Noctis attempted to right himself. As it was, with his wrists frozen against the floor where Ardyn had left them, he could hardly get his legs under himself, let alone sit straight.

“Please, don’t get up.” Ardyn added lightly, smirking over his shoulder as Noctis let out a frustrated shout. He kicked his feet out in anger a couple more times before he settled for turning his hips to the side and curling in his legs. That at least felt less vulnerable.

 _Not real._ His mind repeated, as if that changed anything. He’d had the same thought when Insomnia fell. 

He lay there for a long moment, the room quiet save for his shaky breathing and the rustle of Ardyn’s sleeves as he removed his gloves. Noctis curled his hands into fists, unfurled them, repeat, trying to ignore the feeling of cool air against his skin. He wanted to pretend Ardyn wasn’t there, as long as he was quiet, as long as he wasn’t _touching_ him.

But he could feel the silent expectation radiating from the other man, couldn’t ignore the morbid curiosity prickling at him. Knowing it was a mistake didn’t stop him when he finally gathered himself to speak.

“What did you mean?” He insisted, shifting, head raised to get a better look at the man, who was facing away from him. He swallowed, “About, seeing…?”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. But that was apparently enough for Ardyn, who turned back to him, a mischievous glint in his eye. Like this was a joke.

“Oh, you’ll have to be more specific. I’ve seen quite a few things, Noct,” He leaned against a storage container, loosening the scarf around his neck idly, “Like that lovely little late night outing with-” Here Ardyn paused, bringing a hand to his mouth in faux apology, “Well, you _did_ ask me not to talk about him, didn’t you?”

Noctis blinked, suddenly thrown back to their earlier conversation. It felt like a lifetime ago. 

“The arcade?” Ardyn had kept him too busy to think about the implications until now. _Stupid!_ “How did you…?”

“I was there,” He replied airily, as if the chancellor of Niflheim hanging out in an arcade in the capital city of Lucis was the most normal thing in the world. He had unwrapped the mantle from his shoulders and was folding it neatly onto the box behind him.

It was Noctis’s turn to laugh, a single, dry sound, hysterical, “ _Why_ were you-”

“For _you,_ Noctis,” Ardyn interrupted him, head cocked to the side and arms spread out. He let them drop and leaned forward from his perch, affecting sympathy.

“It wasn’t just that night, of course. I know how lonely you could get, in that big castle. It’s a shame, really. I couldn’t be there with you _nearly_ as often as I would have liked. I had my duties as chancellor, you understand.”

“That…” Noctis mumbled, struggling to reconcile any version of what the man was saying with a reality that made sense, “ _What?”_

“Do try to keep up, Noct.” If he hated the familiar use of his name before, he didn’t know what to call the feeling it gave him now, spoken lazily with that knowing smile, “Where haven’t I been entirely clear?”

“You couldn’t just…” Noctis began, at a loss, “the _Wall-”_

“Oh, I wouldn’t let some silly little wall come between us.” He replied dismissively, shrugging out of his coat. And why shouldn’t that be true, Noctis thought numbly, with everything else he’d seen the man capable of, “Honestly, I’m hurt by your skepticism. Shall I regale you with tales of our time spent together?”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Noctis muttered, turning away from him. He felt vaguely sick. 

“But I insist,” There was a poisonous delight in Ardyn’s voice. He set his coat to the side as he continued, “Do you remember that day you wandered off from the citadel, chasing after the little shield and her cat?”

Noctis’s gaze shot back to him, eyes wide. Of course he remembered. He didn’t want to think about this monster anywhere near himself that young and vulnerable, let alone _Iris._

“How old were you? Eleven or twelve? So cute back then. I recall you had the entire Crownsguard in a tizzy searching for you. And no wonder! Who knows what could have happened, a child wandering all alone like that?” 

_But not really alone._ He didn’t need to say the words, it was evident in the lazy quirk of his smile, the predatory gaze as he looked down on him. He unraveled his scarf, his collar spilling open with it, as he continued intently,

“Or, perhaps the day you moved out of the citadel and into your own apartments? So _eager_ to be independent.” 

“I get it,” Noctis grit out. He didn’t want to hear this. He didn’t need to hear about his own life filtered through Ardyn’s covetous eyes. Ardyn hardly seemed to hear him.

“Oh, it was a delight to finally have you alone so often. At least, when your dear Ignis wasn’t cleaning up after you. You have no idea how tempted I was, to simply take you then.” One sleeve rolled up, slowly, taking his time, “You always were such a tease.”

“Enough! I said I get it!” Noctis repeated, more forcefully this time. He was still trying to wrap his head around the the ugly shape that was Ardyn being some sort of constant lurking presence in his life. Hearing the details wasn’t making it any more pleasant.

“I don’t think you do.” Dismissive. The other sleeve followed its counterpart, “Please Noct, indulge me. I have waited _so_ very long for this.”

Noctis huffed, closing his eyes again. He wasn’t going to keep giving Ardyn the reaction he wanted, he _wasn’t-_

“I’m sure you recall that _unfortunate_ incident with the Marilith.” There was the clinking of a belt buckle. The sound should have sent another spike of fear through Noctis, but he barely registered it past the phantom whisper of blades slicing across his back. Why-

_But why not, if Ardyn was responsible for everything else wrong in his life, if he’d always been there, why not that too?_

Ardyn raised a hand to his forehead, play acting at sorrow, “Ah, your father was so worried, he hardly left your bedside. And that adorable little charm he brought, to protect you.” He dropped the pose and turned, lifting his coat from where he’d placed it and slinging it over his arm, before tilting his head, looking nostalgic, “I thought it was all very sweet.” 

Ardyn was halfway across the room. Ardyn was crouching at Noctis’s side. Noctis started, not ready for that particularly familiar use of magic, curling in on himself more tightly in defense. But he had nowhere to retreat to from Ardyn taking his chin in his free hand as he leaned in close, fond and terrible.

“As if anything could protect you from me.”

Noctis looked back at him numbly, stared into eyes that had spent so long staring at him. He was standing on the edge of some abyss, dark and ancient and _wanting_ , ready to devour him. He couldn’t find it in himself to disagree.

Ardyn lingered, starry eyes hooded and lips parted, breath beating against Noctis’s cheeks, before pulling back, the moment broken. He carefully spread his coat out on the floor next to him, cheerful and unassuming as ever.

“Now, I know these aren’t the most _romantic_ of accommodations…”

He took Noctis by his frozen wrists and gathered his protesting body in his arms. Noctis’s knee connected with his side, enough to give Ardyn pause, but he only chuckled and adjusted his grip, shifting him onto the fabric easily enough. He placed his captive’s wrists back by his head, just as immobile as before, then set to tucking the coat around the boy’s frame affectionately. It smelled like him, and Noctis wrinkled his nose against it.

“Oh, don’t be like that.” Ardyn tapped Noctis’s nose lightly, disrupting the expression, “Isn’t this much more comfortable? It would hardly be fitting for a king such as yourself to be fucked on the floor now, would it?”

Noctis tensed at that word, blunt as it was. He opened his mouth to object, but what could he possibly say? All that came out was a half-formed vowel. The smirk hadn’t left Ardyn’s face, but he could see the fresh satisfaction there, feel it in the reassuring squeeze on his shoulder.

“Let’s get you out of those clothes, hm?”

He shifted back again, and Noctis felt his grip around his ankle, taking hold of his boot and beginning to slip it off. He managed a halfway decent kick with his other leg, but Ardyn’s other hand quickly came down around that ankle as well. 

“Will this be your first time?” Ardyn asked. Noctis blinked up at him, at the conversational tone of it, like this was all perfectly normal. His boots were gone before he realized it.

“What,” He asked tiredly after a moment, not bothering to struggle as Ardyn slipped off a sock, “you don’t already know?”

Ardyn sounded delighted by that particular response, “As I said, I tragically couldn’t be with you _all_ of the time.” The other sock followed, tossed carelessly to the side, “But, for all of your adorable little crushes, I’m fairly certain it will be.”

Noctis didn’t deign to answer this time, turning his head away. His face burned, thoughts drifting unbidden to the ways he _had_ imagined his first time over the years. With Luna, with Ignis, with Prompto. The feelings that he couldn’t chase, could hardly have named. Of course Ardyn would take this away from him too.

“Ah, now, you saving yourself for me,” His fingers hooked into Noctis’s pants, dragging down the bare skin of his legs, making him shiver, as he removed them. “that _is_ very romantic, don’t you think?”

Noctis wanted to scream. His clothes were discarded to the side, crumpled in a pile with none of the care Ardyn had given his own things.

“There we are, all ready now. I do appreciate your patience.” Ardyn paused, once again relishing in the sight before him. The King of Kings, helpless, body waiting for him. He sighed, “Ah, but you _are_ a marvel.”

He settled between Noctis’s legs, pressing them up and between their bodies, giving himself easy access. Stroked the soft skin of his inner thigh contentedly for a moment before sliding his touch upwards. Noctis’s body twitched with each movement, wanting to jerk away but having nowhere to go as he felt a hand dip between his legs.

“No!” The word was out of his mouth, voice found again, before he truly felt the teasing touch against his backside, rubbing and circling the rim without pressing in. Noctis tried to kick again, and Ardyn leaned in closer, folding his legs completely and cutting off any further resistance.

“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted this. How long I’ve waited.” He sounded almost reverent, voice strained with arousal, “Did you know, all of that lofty talk about your being the _King of Light_ , that all it really came down to was this? You and I.”

There was the popping sound and this time the finger nudging teasingly at his entrance was slick because- _because he’d been planning to do this to him the whole time, for years, this was some culmination, why wouldn’t he be prepared_ \- 

The finger pressed _in_ and Noctis gasped, body clenching around it. Ardyn gave a pleased sigh and Noctis shuddered, as much from that as from the invasion. It didn’t really hurt, but he could _feel_ Ardyn, stroking inside of him, finger crooking experimentally, _preparing him_ , and that was more than enough. 

“Hold still, Noct,” He hadn’t even realized he’d been trying to shuffle away, futile as it was. He shook his head, burying it in the collar of Ardyn’s coat as a second digit joined the first. Then, too quickly, a third, and _now_ it hurt. He failed to hold back a whimper, and Ardyn shushed him, fingers flexing lazily.

“That’s right.” He leaned in, murmuring comfort and praise into Noctis’s ear, “This is what you were made for.”

“ _Stop,_ ” Noctis’s voice was breathy and muffled, face still hiding against fabric. The fingers twisted, and his plea turned into a pained groan. Ardyn hummed his approval. The ministrations continued, coaxing the trembling body open for him until Noctis quieted, sounds of pain reduced to harsh breathing.

“See? You’re already taking me so well.” A kiss, pressed lightly to the corner of his mouth, and then-

The fingers finally pulled out of him, but Noctis had no time to enjoy the relief of that. There was the shifting of fabric again, the heat coming off of Ardyn’s body as he freed himself, still pressed so close to him, erection already full and heavy in his hand. The sound of him slicking himself up as he aligned himself with Noctis’s entrance. The pressure of the tip nudging teasingly against him.

Noctis didn’t thrash now, body frozen in dreadful anticipation, laid out for Ardyn like an offering. _Is that what he was?_ Ardyn’s thumb brushed against his cheek, wiping away a tear. He’d started crying at some point, and now that he was aware of it he couldn’t stop. The touch moved to the back of his head, pulling him in as Ardyn pressed his forehead to his.

“I have to say for my part, yes,” He breathed, “this is exactly how I imagined.”

Ardyn’s hips bucked forward and Noctis cried out, body twitching around the cock suddenly filling him. This was somehow worse, thicker, heavier, than the fingers had been. Noctis’s entire frame shivered as it drew back, then pressed in again, deeper. Much too close, Ardyn moaned openly, the sound as deep and inescapable as the pressure inside him, the fingers digging into his waist, pulling him into the next thrust.

It continued like that, Ardyn’s hips rolling against him almost languidly, pressing in further each time. Making Noctis’s body shape itself around him, sending jolts of pain along his spine, aching. The man’s face was still so close to his, eclipsing his vision, wordless gasps mingling between them with each thrust. It made it impossible to miss the look of bliss on Ardyn’s face when he bottomed out, pressed flush to Noctis’s backside. 

He stilled then, leaving himself buried to the hilt, and drew back, just enough to treat himself to the view of the place where their bodies met. A deep, shaking sigh of satisfaction to harmonize with Noctis’s labored, hiccuping breaths. The weight inside him was awful, hot and full and ready to take until he had no more to give.

“You are _divine_.” Ardyn praised him, softly in contrast with his bruising grip on Noctis’s hips, still no trace of his usual air of irony. But he chuckled after a moment, like that was some sort of inside joke, “Ah, I suppose that’s only appropriate.”

“Ar...dyn,” Choked out, a curse and a plea together, as the man began moving again, drawing himself out slowly before snapping his hips forward.

“Noctis,” He echoed. A curse as well, spoken with all the adoration in the world, “Do tell me how it feels, Your Majesty. Does it hurt? Is it just unbearable?”

It did hurt. It felt like he was drowning. Ardyn was above him and below him and _inside_ him and it was too much. He wanted to scream. The sound that came out of his mouth was closer to a sob.

Evidently that was a satisfactory answer. Ardyn buried his face in Noctis’s throat with a pleased groan, tonguing the skin there, hitting a steady rhythm. He left marks, the skin vibrating under his lips as each rocking of his hips forced desperate little noises from Noctis’s throat. 

There was a spark of warmth, lit brighter with Ardyn’s cock dragging across nerves as he drew back, and Noctis couldn't hold back a whimper of distressed pleasure at the next thrust. Couldn’t help the feeling of his own half hard length pressed and twitching between their bodies. Couldn’t hide from Ardyn, impossibly, pressing them closer together as he took notice.

“Ah, what’s this?” Ardyn’s voice was at his ear again, adjusting the angle to grind against Noctis’s growing erection. Shame rose hot in his face. “Perhaps you’re beginning to recognize that this is where you belong.”

Noctis shook his head weakly, hands fisting in the fabric of Ardyn’s coat tucked around him. Something tugged in his chest with each assertion that he somehow belonged to this monster. He didn’t want to think about what it meant. He could hardly think at all. 

“Everything taken away from me. My entire life, slipped through my fingers.” He sounded far away for a moment. He sounded _tired_. Then the full force of his attention was back on Noctis, all consuming, “But I get to have you.”

“I’m not-” Noctis stumbled over his own words, short and simple as they were. He didn’t even know what precisely he was protesting anymore, “I don’t want-”

“You never had a choice in this.” Ardyn laughed, but the sound had an oddly bitter edge to it now, “It’s just _terribly_ unfair, isn’t it?”

He punctuated the question with a particularly harsh thrust. Noctis cried out, head lolling to the side, unable to choke down the sob that followed.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Ardyn sighed. He stilled for a moment, and Noctis took the opportunity to breathe, to try to stay unmoving, to not feel the way the other man’s cock still sat heavy inside him. A hand grasped Noctis’s chin, made him look his tormentor in the eye as he gazed down at him thoughtfully. “I know you didn’t care for Prompto. Would this be better for you if I were Ignis?”

"Don't-" Noctis's plea died on his lips because suddenly it was Ignis's familiar hand gripping his face, Ignis's sharp green eyes, no trace of scarring, looking down at him, narrowed in pleasure as his hips-

Another jolt of pleasure shot through him and Noctis whined, the sensation only made worse by the sound of his advisor’s voice, always a source of comfort, crooning lustfully in his ear.

“Come now, you can’t tell me you don’t still want this.” He was saying, "After all, I do know you best." 

Noctis couldn't tell if that was more of Ardyn playacting at being Ignis or if he was referring to himself. He sniffled, shaking his head as Ignis’s slender fingers closed around his cock, pumping it in time with the rhythm of his thrusts. 

“Let me take care of you, Noct.” He cooed, thumb swiping across the tip, drawing out another moan, "Just like I always do, hm?"

And he _did_ , touches tender and attentive, focused on Noctis’s pleasure in a way he hadn’t bothered with before. Mouth traveling down his chest, finding the sensitive flesh of a nipple and sucking at it, making him squirm. It felt good, and that was almost worse than the pain.

(The pain was still there of course, a deep ache that wouldn’t leave because this parody of affection he could never have was just another way to hurt him, because even now he was still taking and _taking_ )

A tear, wiped from Noctis’s cheek again with Ardyn’s free hand, and a new wave of shame at the instinctive desire to lean into the touch, bringing fresh tears with it. Ardyn traded his hand for his ( _Ignis’s_ ) lips, kissing them gently away. 

“ _Stop,_ ” Noctis gasped. He could remember reaching up and taking Ignis’s hand in his, when they were small. He’d been his whole world at the time. Prompto had hurt ( _did Ardyn hurt him too, like this?)_ , but this was- “Stop. Please just, not him.”

Ardyn’s grip around his cock tightened for a moment, almost painfully. Then it was gone.

“Ah, ever the spoiled prince. There’s truly no satisfying you is there? And here I thought you _liked_ me.” Ardyn twisted Ignis’s features in hurt, betrayal even. Again, some instinctive part of Noctis felt guilt at that, that he’d disappointed him. It was almost a relief when he dropped the illusion a moment later.

“I suppose we could round things out and try on Gladio?” Ardyn leaned in close, smiling benevolently, face once again his own but voice echoing something softer, lighter, “Or your dear Luna?”

Noctis’s breath caught, and for just a moment, anger broke through again, flaring up hot in his throat. He thrashed and shouted wordless venom, ignoring the anchoring feeling of Ardyn inside him, the way the man’s breath quickened in pleasure at the feeling of his struggles because how dare he, _how dare he_ -

A hand closed around his throat and _squeezed_. Noctis choked, body twitching to a halt as his frozen hands strained, wanting to grab at the vice around his neck but unable. His mouth worked soundlessly, and then that was full too, the fingers of Ardyn’s other hand diving in, pressing down on his tongue. 

“No, as enjoyable as that would be,” Ardyn’s grip massaged into his neck, almost lovingly, _he couldn’t breathe,_ “I want you looking at me.”

Noctis heaved a breath as soon as he let go a moment later, willed himself not to throw up. The hand that had been invading his mouth withdrew, patting him on the cheek, condescending. It took another moment for his vision to clear, to be able to look back up at Ardyn. 

“I’m going to kill you.” He rasped. He meant it, with all the helpless grief and anger built up since he’d left home, but deeper even than that, something about the words felt _right_.

Ardyn’s pupils were blown wide, “Oh, I hope so.”

Noctis had no desire to parse that particular statement, but he wouldn’t have had the time to because Ardyn came down on him with sudden intensity, pounded into him with renewed vigor. He seemed finally content to let words fall to the side for the moment, filling their absence with the scrape of his stubble against Noctis’s abused throat, the sting of his grip in Noctis’s hair, with his cock sliding roughly in and out of him. 

Noctis whimpered. He was outside himself and at the same time, so painfully present. No amount of fog clouding and scattering his thoughts could take away the feeling of Ardyn defiling him, the cacophony of sensations of the man caging his body with his own, some sick claim of ownership. So he felt the way Ardyn’s cock twitched and convulsed inside of him, the beating of the man’s heart against his own chest, the sinking of teeth into the place where his throat met his shoulder-

A warmth, filling him somehow more completely than Ardyn already had, coating him from the inside. Ardyn moaned into the reddening skin where he’d bit him, low and sinuous, hips still rutting, riding out his pleasure. When he slowed to a stop, Noctis could feel that too, thick cum slowly leaking out around the softening cock still buried inside of him. It was an odd sensation, when he was sure some part of Ardyn had seeped into him, somewhere he could never get it out.

“You were perfect.” Ardyn murmured. He lifted himself, pressing a kiss to Noctis’s lips, softly this time. Noctis let him. “My sun and stars. Everything I could have asked for.”

He barely registered when Ardyn pulled out, backed off of him completely, save for the sudden sticky emptiness he left behind. The sensation struck him, almost humorously, as appropriate. His legs were finally allowed to fall and he whined quietly in spite of himself, pressing his thighs together. He was still hard, erection almost painful for lack of release, and the movement wasn’t kind on his lower body either. 

He blinked slowly, staring at nothing. He could hear the sound of Ardyn moving around the room, but he couldn’t find the energy to look. Distantly, he wondered if it was over.

He flinched when Ardyn’s touch returned, spreading his thighs back apart, taking in the sight of his flushed cock, pressed against his stomach, of his slick and abused entrance. Noctis held his breath, but all Ardyn did there was look, his touch instead shifting to his calves. There was the feeling of fabric brushing along his legs, and it took him a prolonged moment to realize Ardyn was dressing him. The man had already replaced the scarf around his own neck.

Ardyn tugged his pants and underwear up together, gently tucking Noctis’s now flagging erection into the fabric. He groaned uncomfortably and Ardyn shushed him with a chuckle and a ‘There, now’. So Noctis quietly endured him tugging his shirt back down from where it was bunched around his chest, and him slipping his socks and boots back onto his feet. 

Ardyn looked, regretful, almost. Noctis furrowed his brow. The expression was wholly unfamiliar, soft and lacking the man’s usual theatrics. Then Ardyn caught his gaze and smiled wistfully.

“Would that we had more time to enjoy each other’s company,” He said, hand back in Noctis’s hair, petting him. Noctis’s face twisted in disgust and he turned away. Ardyn didn’t seem to mind. “But you have a meeting with your Crystal, and I would hate to make you late.”

“No,” Noctis protested weakly. Ardyn’s eyes narrowed for a moment, dangerous, but he pressed on, “Where’s Prompto, I need to-”

“Oh, dear heart, I’m sure your other guard dogs have found him by now.” The hint of anger was gone, replaced with amusement. “And you’re in no state for a daring rescue.”

The strange sparks of magic that had bound his hands for so long disappeared. Noctis gasped, made to sit up. He barely managed it, propped up on an elbow, the rest of him seizing up with a small cry. His lower body didn’t appreciate that movement either. It ached, still, a lingering reminder that Ardyn had-

“Well now, what did I tell you?”

Noctis brought a hand to his mouth, willed himself one more time not to throw up. He bit into the flesh of his knuckles, anything to keep his mind from drifting back to a place where Ardyn’s body was still curled over his own, instead of knelt down next to him, _too close_. 

Ardyn’s hands closed around his, pulled it away from his face, firm but gentle. Carefully, tenderly, he slipped the Ring of the Lucii back on his finger. On one knee, the way someone might make a proposal. Noctis inhaled, feeling the connection to the ring’s magic return. He felt about as capable of calling on it now as he did the armiger. He blinked slowly, watching with detachment as Ardyn brought the hand to his lips again. An awful echo, gentlemanly, like he _hadn’t_ just-

“Oh, just look at you.” He fussed, brushing Noctis’s bangs aside, “You’ve had such a busy day. You must be absolutely exhausted.” 

He was gathering him in his arms now, still wrapped up in his coat, Noctis’s face coming to rest against his collar as he lifted him. “Well, not to worry. You’ll have all the time in the world to rest soon.”

Some part of Noctis shuddered at that, whatever it meant. Told him to struggle again, to run. But Ardyn was right. He was tired. 

The world was a series of dim ceiling lights, passing dreamily above his head, and the rumble of Ardyn’s chest as he spoke. He told him about a sickness, about a savior and a jealous king, about a monster who had waited in the dark for so, so long. A bedtime story.

When Ardyn whispered his true name in Noctis’s ear, he wasn’t surprised. That felt right too.

There were shouts, far away voices calling for him, the sound of boots pounding across metal. They wouldn’t make it in time. He could recognize Prompto’s voice among them and he smiled, just a little. Relief. Ardyn hadn’t lied, they had found him, even if Noctis had failed to. 

After being in the dark so long himself, the light of the Crystal was blinding. Noctis could feel it, tugging at him the same way Ardyn’s words had. He could feel it almost as clearly as he felt Ardyn’s lips, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. 

And just like Ardyn had, when the man offered Noctis’s body to the Crystal, it _took._


End file.
